Unlike birdwatchers, birds do not generally band together just to be social. They do it because it helps them survive.

One reason birds join flocks is to forage for food.

Cedar waxwings roam about in large groups searching for berries. Unlike the northern mockingbird that finds a bush full of berries and hollers “mine, all mine,” waxwings have developed an “all for one and one for all” mentality. They figure that more eyes scouting will find more berries.

Also, a large group of birds has a better chance of spotting a predator. One bird among many is less likely to become dinner for a passing Cooper’s hawk or peregrine falcon.

Cedar waxwings do separate into pairs during the breeding season, but maintain their social sphere by nesting together in clusters of a dozen or more nests.

Another species that is extremely fond of flocking is the white ibis. Ibis use their long, down-curved bills to forage in grass or mud for tasty invertebrates. They feed by touch, rather than sight, dining on crayfish, fiddler crabs, worms, fish, beetles and other insects.

While I often see flocks of ibis feeding in the salt marsh, I was amazed to find more than a hundred birds gathered on the bank of a freshwater pond on Tybee Island, engaged in a noisy communal bathing party.

Occasionally, where food is abundant, different species of birds can be found feeding together. In the tidal ponds near my house, I often find herons, egrets, ibis, wood storks and hooded mergansers, each searching for food in its own special way. The mergansers dive for fish, the herons and egrets wait and stab, while the ibis probe beneath the mud. It isn’t all harmony and bliss, as the birds do have their little spats over the best feeding spots.

The long-legged wading birds go from feeding together to breeding together. Although they do compete for mates and establish pair bonds, they all nest together in dense colonies known as rookeries. Each pair will defend a small territory around its nest, but the advantages of being together seem to outweigh the drawbacks.

Shorebirds, gulls and terns can be found roosting together on the beach at high tide. If a threat appears, such as an eagle, a dog or a human, the whole flock will take to the wing in tight formation. Flocks of black skimmers and small shorebirds could teach the Blue Angels a few tricks when it comes to evasive action and synchronized flying. At low tide, the flocks disperse and the birds go off to feed in smaller groups on the rocks and mudflats.

Hanging out with your bird buddies does have its downside. For starters, a flock of birds is a lot more obvious than is a single bird. Predators may stake out a flock of birds, searching for the weakest bird in the bunch.

Another factor in large flocks is competition for food and mates. When food is abundant, this isn’t an issue, but in lean times, birds that are less aggressive or less healthy will struggle to survive.

Diseases, such as finch eye and avian pox, can also be spread more easily through large flocks of birds.

I stood on the beach at high tide watching and counting the groupies — 55 American oystercatchers, 140 dunlin, 30 ruddy turnstones, 1 black-bellied plover, 15 Forster’s terns and 200 black skimmers. Up at the freshwater pond, I found a loner — a single spotted sandpiper.

Different strokes for different folks, but here’s to the flockers — the more the merrier!